Dayton937

Things to do in Dayton | Restaurants, Theatre, Music and More

Archives for September 2018

Brunch at Wheat Penny

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We’ve been hearing about it for over a year from Chef Liz.  They’ve been sharing photo’s on social media and finally today we got to taste it. Wheat Penny is now serving brunch! And it was delicious.  The only surprise- it wasn’t packed today.  But we have a feeling that will change!

Here’s a tour of our brunch today:

Eggs in Hell

Poached eggs in a spicy tomato sauce on cheese polenta with toast

 

 

 

 

 

Breakfast Gondola 

Pizza dough shaped like a gondola baked with whipped ricotta, sunny up eggs with ham, bacon mushrooms and bacon

served with a side of greens

 

 

 

 

 

 

Breakfast Tacos

Corn tortillas stuffed with your choice of eggs and bacon, green chorizo and egg, or eggplant

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Breakfast Sandwich 

Housemade grilled Ciabatta roll, egg, cheese, Mariah’s Chile Sauce  with a burger patty, green chorizo or fried chicken thight

also available vegan with smoked jackfruit , crispy eggplant or cauli patty

 

 

 

 

 

There’s still more of the brunch menu we didn’t get to, but today was only the first day.  With the brunch menu served each Saturday and Sunday, trust us, we will make it through the whole menu soon!

 

Wheat Penny Oven
515 Wayne Ave,
Dayton, OH 45410

(937) 496-5268

Monday – Friday 11am – 10pm
Sunday 10am- 3pm

Apply Now For Office Space Through Activated Spaces

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Are you interested in leasing office space in downtown Dayton? If so, this program could be for you!

Activated Spaces was launched in downtown in 2011 and helped launch successful businesses like Beaute Box, Hick’s Barbershop, Spice Paradise and Twist Cupcakery. Since the inception of the project 25 shops have launched, 13 of which are still open. The project has activated more than 25,000 square feet of previously vacant space and 41 new jobs have been created. This volunteer project, which is part of the Greater Downtown Dayton Plan is now launching  Activated Office, a new program focusing on activating empty office space and providing entrepreneurs an opportunity to test out downtown as their business address.

The ultimate goal of the Activated Office project is to create a vibrant downtown that serves as a location for people to work, collaborate, and innovate.  The selected office space is located on the eighth floor of Liberty Tower (120 W. Second St.) and is remodeled in order to host up to three companies in a collaborative environment.

Activated Office tenants will receive a short-term lease option for downtown office space, a small stipend to help offset startup costs, and a below market lease rate. In addition, each selected business will receive 10 hours of free legal services from Pickrel, Schaeffer & Ebeling and 15 hours of free marketing support from either Catapult Creative or Creative Fuse.

Please note all proposals will remain confidential until accepted into the program. Upon acceptance into the program, all Activated Office tenants will be featured in publications and marketing materials. By submitting your application, you are not committed to leasing space if accepted.

download application

Leasing details

Pop-up lease terms are three to six months and long term leases are encouraged after the lease terms expire. Lease terms will be negotiated directly with the property owner. Flexibility for the tenant is a priority.

Community Resources for Business Planning

There are several resources in the community who are available to assist with writing a business plan or answer any questions you may have before taking your business to the next level. Please utilize them if necessary before turning in your application.

Timeline:

  • October 12, 2018: Deadline for pop-up project application.
  • Week of October 22, 2018: Interviews conducted with top applicants, Pop-up tenants selected.
  • Week of October 29, 2018: Notify winners.

 

Day of The Dead Mask & Puppet Classes

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Zoot Theatre Company is offering some special classes to help you celebrate Día de los Muertos, Day of the Dead. This is the Mexican holiday honoring the dearly departed on November 1st.  The most familiar symbols, skeletons and skulls, are incorporated into the celebrations and festivals. The skeletons and skulls are usually portrayed enjoying life, decorated and displayed in charming situations.

 

Day of the Dead: Mask Making Class 

(It will take two Saturdays to complete this class)

October 6 & 13, 2018

 9:30 am – 11:30 am

14 year olds to Adults

$80 (price includes materials)

Class Description: ¡Feliz Día de los Meurtos! Celebrate Day of the Dead with us at Zoot Theatre Company by making your own mask. In this two session class, participants will create a mask in the spirit of Mexico’s Day of the Dead celebration. A skull mask will be made using paper mache and plaster fabric strips on a mask template provided. Colorful paints will bring life to the skull masks!

Registration Deadline: September 29, 2018

 

Day of the Dead: Paper Bunraku Puppet Class

October 20, 2018 

9:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

8 to 13 year olds

$35 (price includes materials)

Class Description: Celebrate Day of the Dead with art! Come join us at Zoot where you will discover what the Mexican holiday Day of the Dead is and learn about Japanese inspired puppetry: Bunraku. With the help of skilled Zoot puppet artists, children will build their own Day of the Dead Skeleton paper puppet based on the Bunraku style of puppetry. Finally, they will learn how to manipulate their puppet with two other people and solo. Learn what it takes to bring a puppet to life!

Please Remember:  This is   a working arts studio, art is messy, please wear appropriate clothes.

The Zoot Theatre Company

840 Germantown St, Dayton, Ohio 45402
(937) 875-9668

‘Curious Incident’ Review – Wright State University – Boy Wonder

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Inquisitive autistic British teenager Christopher Boone, an introverted lover of math, rodents and the Rubik’s cube, overcomes adversity with empowering fortitude in Simon Stephens’ compelling 2012 drama The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, currently receiving a terrific regional collegiate premiere at Wright State University in the Festival Playhouse of the Creative Arts Center.

Colin Hodgkin as Christopher Boone and the cast of Wright State University’s production of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. (Contributed photo)

 

Colin Hodgkin as Christopher Boone and Katie Sinicki as Judy Boone in WSU’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. (Contributed photo)

Based on the 2003 novel by Mark Haddons and directed with deft sharpness by Marya Spring Cordes, Curious Incident places the audience directly into the brilliantly busy and detailed mind of Christopher (an exceptional Colin Hodgkin), who is determined to figure out who killed his neighbor’s dog, Wellington. He faithfully records his findings in a special book, which serves as the narrative focus for the show’s play-within-a-play framework often recounted by his supportive teacher Siobhan (Kaitlyn Campbell, warm and pleasant). But in a savvy twist, his fascinating detective pursuit becomes so much more than a search for truth about Wellington. There are hurtful secrets and lies to unravel within his own family requiring him to shed his innocence and take matters into his own hands, leading him beyond his comfort zone for the first time in his life in spite of the fact he’s fearful of touch and distrusts strangers due to his condition.
Stephens’ script is wordy, quick, complex, and sophisticated, which isn’t unusual for contemporary British dramas.

Colin Hodgkin as Christopher Boone in WSU’s production of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. (Contributed photo)

Nonetheless, Christopher’s seemingly impossible journey remains engaging and often riveting, which is a testament to Cordes’ ability to illuminate the play’s emotional intricacies while simultaneously grasping its multi-layered scope/structure. Her excellent cast, which has received superb dialect coaching from Deborah Thomas, brings depth and nuance to their roles as well as a clear understanding of the world they inhabit, often moving around the stage with mechanical precision. The aforementioned Hodgkin, who never leaves the stage in a tour de force of psychology, physicality, specificity, and stamina, offers a powerful, educational look at the sensitive nature of autism, especially from an emotional and behavioral standpoint. His enthusiastic curtain call delivery of Christopher’s mind-blowing problem solving is also impressive. Justin Mathews is heartbreaking as Christopher’s conflicted, disgruntled, angry, and abusive father Ed, whose overprotective influence backfires as his son grows more curious and courageous. Katie Sinicki, luminous as sassy Nora in Cordes’ production of Brighton Beach Memoirs at the Human Race Theatre Company last season, is dynamically effervescent and heartfelt as Christopher’s complicated mother Judy, unable to handle the pressures of marriage and parenting but willing to reconnect regardless. MacKenzie Kasbaum, Josh Beasley, Eric Thompson, Mark Antony Howard, Hailey Marshall, and Isabella Andrews supply strong variety in various roles from police officers and neighbors to train station guards and relatives.

In addition, the production’s marvelous technical team includes scenic designer David J. Castellano, costume designer Courtney Michele, lighting designer Matthew P. Benjamin, fight choreographer Bruce Cromer, composer Darryl Robbins, and sound designer James Dunlap. Benjamin, Robbins and Dunlap particularly bolster the play’s evocative atmospherics.

Winner of seven 2013 Olivier Awards including Best New Play and five 2015 Tony Awards including Best Play, Curious Incident begins WSU’s 39th season on a resounding high note.

 

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time continues through Oct. 7 in the Festival Playhouse of the Creative Arts Center at Wright State University, 3640 Col. Glenn Hwy., Fairborn. Performances are Oct. 3 and 4 at 7 p.m., Sept. 28, 29, Oct. 5 and 6 at 8 p.m., and Sept. 30, Oct. 6 and 7 at 2 p.m. There will be a special talkback following the Sept. 30 matinee. Act One: 75 minutes; Act Two: 70 minutes. Tickets are $25 for adults, $23 for seniors and $15 for students. For tickets or more information, call (937) 775-2500 or visit www.wright.edu/theatre-dance-and-motion-pictures/performances/ticket-information. Also, WSU is partnering with SISCA to promote animal adoption in the Dayton region. If you are interested in adopting the dog featured in the production, or any pet, please contact the SICSA Pet Adoption Center at (937) 294-6505.

 

Cobblestone Village Cafe Adds Dinner Service

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Owners Jeremy and Angela Greene envisioned designing a location that encompassed all the things that they enjoyed the most; loving people, creating warm inviting environments, thoughtful crafted food, coffee, and gelato.  And that’s exactly what they’ve done at Cobblestone Village Cafe in Waynesville.

They’ve created a passionate collective of culinary artists, eclectic designers, master baristas, and Gelaticians (Gelato maker). Here, they invite their guests to become a part of a world where great tasting food, thoughtfully crafted beverages, and hand curated home furnishings—shared in an environment of infectious positivity.

Known for their tasty brunches and lunch, they will be adding dinner service beginning Oct 5th. From 5-9pm. Thursday thru Saturday year round. You can join them for local beer, a  selection of fine wines, bourbons, and cocktails, seasonal farm to table culinary delights of small plates, entrees, and desserts.

 

Cobblestone Cafe

10 North Main Street
Waynesville, OH 45068

513-897-0021

11am -3:30pm Tues-Fri
11am -4pm Sat & Sun

Starting Oct 5th
5-9pm Thurs – Sat

 

Artist of the Week: Megan Fiely

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Megan Fiely moved back to her home state of Ohio a little over a year ago, after living in Colorado and Kansas. She lives in Dayton’s South Park neighborhood and shares a studio in the Old North Dayton neighborhood.

Megan was nice enough to let me hang out and watch her paint for awhile. When I started watching this canvas was almost completely white, with some texture made from modeling paste. As I watched her paint I could start to see one of her colorful abstracts emerge.

You can see Megan painting tonight, Saturday night and Sunday afternoon at the Benjamin & Marian Schuster Performing Arts Center. The Dayton Philharmonic is playing three concerts that include the Final Movement from Modest Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. Before the concert the audience will see Megan and two other artists creating their own pictures.

“I don’t mind painting while people watch,” Megan told me. “I did that as part of Art in the City in August, and also at Crane Studios Market in June. In November I will be painting alongside a dozen other artists at the Art Off fundraiser for K12 Gallery and TEJAS, In just two hours we will each create a finished painting.”

“My love of music is something that influences my art. There’s a musical element in most of my work, so painting before performances by the Dayton Philharmonic is great.”

DCDC Kicks off 59th Anniversary Season

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Dayton Contemporary Dance Company will kick off their 50th anniversary season with the long-awaited, much anticipated world premiere of The Bench: Journey Into Love.  Created & directed by nationally renowned choreographer Kiesha Lalama, (one of Dance Magazine’s “Top 25 to Watch”) and featuring professional singing talent, The Bench – Journey into Love will be sure to be a hit! The work features original music and lyrics.

 

What do you get when you cross a love story with dance, theatre and song? The world premiere of a full-evening concert, The Bench: Journey into Love, by choreographer Kiesha Lalama. See what happens when a man and woman meet by a park bench, fall in love, have a family, and continue their love into the next life. The Bench – Journey into Love is a whimsical love story told through the influential lens of Fate and Destiny, who unite the charming Antonio and the beautiful Eva through magical serendipity. Emotions run wild as the young couple experience life’s delights and obstacles. This impassioned and passionate theatrical experience weaves together innovative story-driven dance and a gripping jazz musical score to create a timeless tale of love and family.

Catch The Bench: Journey Into Love Saturday, October 6 at 7:30 p.m. or Sunday, October 7 at 4:00pm at Victoria Theatre, located at 138 N. Main St. in Dayton. Tickets start at $15.50.  The show is sponsored by Kettering Family Philanthropies & Media Sponsor is Synchrony Financial.

KIESHA LALAMA has created more than 50 works for stage, film and television. Kiesha choreographed feature films, “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” “Sorority Row,” the hit television documentary series “Broadway or Bust” (PBS), and critically acclaimed television series “Outsiders” (WGN). Theatrical credits include The Jimmy Awards (Broadway), and many more. Lalama has created two full-length contemporary dance theater productions: HeartShakes, which premiered with DCDC in 2015 and The Bench.

Tickets for The Bench: Journey Into Love are available at ticketcenterstage.com or by calling

937-228-3630. Group Tickets available for groups of 10+.  Student, Veteran & Senior discounts also available.

 

The 50th Anniversary Season named Heritage, is sponsored by the Dayton Power & Light Foundation.

For the latest opportunities to celebrate with us, visit dcdc.org, and connect with us on social

media: Facebook/Instagram: @daytoncontemporarydancecompany & Twitter: @DCDCLive

  

About Dayton Contemporary Dance Company:

Dayton Contemporary Dance Company was founded in 1968 to create performance opportunities for dancers of color.

50 years later, DCDC remains rooted in the African American experience, committed to the development of

diverse movement artists on the global stage. Our first and second companies perform more than 60 times every

year and reach more than 25K youth throughout the Miami Valley through our arts-integrated education programs.

DCDC also tours nationally and internationally, serving as cultural ambassadors for the greater Dayton community.

—

Local Sisters Boosting Area’s College Tennis

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Sisters Carli and Jillian Milano

Since they were toddlers they had an interest in playing tennis, one of their dad’s passions.  Their father Greg Milano plans on coaching Beavercreek High Schools Boys Tennis Team this year, as well as working as an assistant coach for Wright State Women’s tennis.  He was a tennis star in his own right, and was a 7 time Greene County Mens Singles Tennis Champion and gained a 4 year scholarship for tennis at Wright State in 1979.

Today, his daughters, Wittenberg Senior Carli Milano and Wright State Sophomore Jillian Milano, look to wreak havoc on their college tennis opponents.  The sisters are Beavercreek, Ohio natives and both Carroll High School graduates.  They are also honor students who have thrived at the college level, allowing them not only athletic but academic scholarships awards as well.   Tennis season has just started  and you can find the Wittenberg Women’s Tennis Schedule HERE  and the Wright State Women’s Tennis Schedule HERE. 

The girls have tremendous family support, not only from their parents Fran and Greg (Wright State Alums), but grandparents Jerry and Joann who attend many matches as they approach their 90’s.

 

WHO ARE THESE TENNIS SISTERS?

Carli plays for Wittenberg

Carli, the Wittenberg Tiger, is the school’s #1 Singles player, facing the best from each and every Division III college they play.  She has traveled as far away as Orlando, Florida for college tournament matches, and has pulled some stunning upsets.  Carli has definitely left her mark on the college tennis scene.   She was the conference player of the week Feb 19, 2018.  Carli was the one Wittenberg Tennis player who was highlighted on the All-North Coast Athletic Conference team this spring, earning honorable mention at the first singles position.  This is the second time Carli has earned an All-NCAC selection, claiming honorable mention honors in 2017.

Carli’s goals are to improve her win-loss record in her final year.  Known for her never say die attitude, her play is a lesson in perseverance, which allows her to outlast many foes.  The Wittenberg Women’s Tennis season is underway and the next match is Oct 6 vs Oberlin College.   After graduation, Carli is planning to pursue a school psychologist position.

 

Jillian plays for Wright State

Jillian, The Wright State Raider, had been playing tennis at the #5 singles position at the Division I level in her freshman year.  She came onto the team being ranked 137th in the nation in singles and 4th in the state of Ohio.  Jillian now travels across the region playing colleges in the Horizon League and beyond.  Her next test is Sept 28th when Wright State takes on Big 10 team Purdue.

Jillian, looks to move up in the ranks to the #3 or #4 position.    Last year she had a successful freshman season posting a 24-16 overall singles record, going 7-2 against Horizon League opponents.  She also had a 16-12 doubles record.  Although she has dealt with a couple of injuries, she has not slowed down or lost any of her aggressive play.  Known for her speed and smashing ground strokes, she was able to surprise and beat many opponents who were ranked well above her, and nationally known.   Jillian’s sophomore year promises more success.

 

Sister’s Teams Scheduled to Clash:
As fate would have it , Wittenberg is scheduled to face a favored Wright State womens tennis team on April 14th, 2019.  Although it is unlikely that the Milano sisters will play each other in singles, they may face each other in a set of doubles.  For mom, Fran Milano, this will be a weekend she will dread.  The nerves associated with her daughters playing each other is not something she enjoys.  The match will take place in Springboro at the South Regency Tennis Center, which is Wright State’s home court.

Whether they win or lose that inter-family match, Carli and Jillian will definitely boost the local college tennis scene this year.

Carli (top right) and the Wittenberg Women’s Tennis Team

Jillian (bottom left) and the Wright State Women’s tennis team

Audition For the Choirs of the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra

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Auditions for new members of the 2018-2019 Choirs of the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra will be held on Monday, October 1, 2018 beginning at  5:00 p.m. at Wright State University in the Creative Arts Center. To schedule an audition time, please contact Amy Vaubel at [email protected] or (937) 554-2986.Complete audition information, including free music score downloads, is available at http://www.daytonphilchoirs.org.  Click on “auditions” in the middle of the page to find music and instructions for each specific voice part.

The Choirs of the Dayton Philharmonic include the Orchestra Chorus, the Chamber Choir, and the Festival Chorus and comprise the choral performance ensembles of the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra. Hank Dahlman, University Professor of Music and Director of Choral Studies at Wright State University, has served as the Dayton Philharmonic Choral Director for twenty years. The mission of the Choirs of the Dayton Philharmonic is to serve as part of the orchestra during the regular subscription season, performing choral-orchestral works.

 

“The Choirs of the Dayton Philharmonic provide an excellent experience for anyone who has a love of singing and has been looking to expand their musical knowledge,” said chorus member Michelle Jordan. “You have the thrill of performing on the stage of the Schuster Center with incredible musicians performing challenging works and to be a part of a true community chorus, representing the Dayton Performing Arts Alliance at performances throughout the year.”

 

Long-standing chorus member Effie Sue Kemerley agrees.  “I have sung with Dayton Philharmonic choruses under every director, beginning with Paul Katz.  What a continuing thrill it is to perform the great choral literature with an orchestra as professional as the DPO, under the baton of Maestro Neal Gittleman.  The DPO Chorus quality has grown immensely under Hank Dahlman’s guidance, and now, with the Dayton Performing Arts Alliance, we have the opportunity to perform with Dayton Opera and Dayton Ballet.  Truly the best volunteer musical experience in town!”

 

The 2018-2019 Vistas Season of the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra opens on September 15, 2018 with the DPAA Season Opening Spectacular Beethoven’s Ninth and runs through June 2019.

 

For more information regarding auditions for the Choirs of the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, please call Amy Vaubel at (937) 554-2986 or email her at [email protected].  For more information on the 2018-2019 Vistas Season of the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, Dayton Ballet, and Dayton Opera, visit www.daytonperformingarts.org.

 

Champagne & Wine Tasting

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Join The Mall at Fairfield Commons and Travelplex Beavercreek as they feature a Wine and Champagne Tasting on Friday, September 28th from 5:30-7:30pm in Center Court. Sample 4 types of wines from local Ohio wineries while enjoying appetizers and desserts from our area restaurants. There will also be live music to set the mood of the event!

Breakdown! Dayton Celebrates Tom Petty

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The music of Tom Petty lives on as we gather in observance of the 1st. Anniversary of his passing. His influence on Dayton musicians will be reflected during this night celebrating his work. Some of Dayton’s finest will perform your favorites from several eras of TP, including his work with The Heartbreakers and Traveling Wilburys. (and maybe a surprise or two.)

‘My Fair Lady’ Review – Dayton Playhouse – Bravo, Eliza!

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The Dayton Playhouse’s pleasant production of Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick’s Loewe’s classic 1956 musical My Fair Lady, the organization’s 60th anniversary season opener, ascends to another level thanks to Sarah Viola’s marvelously sung and skillfully interpreted portrayal of Cockney flower girl Eliza Doolittle.

(left to right) David Shough as Professor Henry Higgins, Sarah Viola as Eliza Doolittle, Brian Laughlin as Colonel Hugh Pickering, and the cast of Dayton Playhouse’s My Fair Lady (Photo by Art Fabian)

A classically trained, Cincinnati-based soprano and graduate of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Viola vocally dazzles with warmhearted wistfulness in Wouldn’t It Be Loverly?, playful vengeance in Just You Wait, fierce fervor in Show Me, and empowering confidence in Without You. But in one of the most thrilling numbers at the Playhouse in recent memory, she jumps an octave at the conclusion of the signature tune I Could Have Danced All Night. It is a blissfully breathtaking, nearly showstopping moment not even attempted by Julie Andrews (the original Eliza), Marni Nixon (the singing voice of Audrey Hepburn in the 1964 film) or Lauren Ambrose (the Tony-nominated Eliza in Lincoln Center’s current, lavish revival). Vocals aside, Viola initially ensures Eliza is conveyed within a tough, scrappy mindset, an honest reflection of her hard-knock life acquiring a few shillings, pounds or pence on the streets of 1913 London. But as Eliza attempts a better life personally and professionally under the strict tutelage of linguistics Professor Henry Higgins (David Shough), she astutely blossoms with elegance, femininity, and self-worth, solidifying the pivotal transformation at the core of this story of socioeconomics, gender wars, family, love, and forgiveness based on George Bernard Shaw’s 1913 play Pygmalion.
The equally praiseworthy Shough creates palpable chemistry with Viola and doesn’t overreach in communicating Higgins’ arrogance and cruelty, a wise choice since the role can be terribly unnerving. After all, a powerful man second-guessing a woman’s potential by calling her heartless, disgusting and a disgrace is tough to digest when viewed in context of today’s #MeToo movement. Nonetheless, Shough’s nuances are great (notice how he says “America” in Why Can’t the English?) and the forceful fury he brings to Higgins’ dismay of Eliza joining forces with his former student Zoltan Karpathy signals a betrayal that would sting forever. Shough also keeps the contemplative poignancy of I’ve Grown Accustomed To Her Face intact and unhurried in spite of the production’s problematic pacing which has the number arriving well after the three-hour mark.

Furthermore, enjoyable featured roles are offered by Brian Laughlin (a lovingly daft Colonel Pickering), Brad Bishop (a hearty Alfred P. Doolittle), Dodie Lockwood (a delightfully sophisticated Mrs. Higgins), Donna Bostwick (a fittingly dutiful Mrs. Pearce), Jamie McQuinn (a kooky Karpathy), Drew Roby (a believably smitten Freddy Eynsford-Hill), Jackie Pfeifer (Mrs. Eynsford-Hill), Steve Strawser and Karla Enix (Lord and Lady Boxington), Mark Sharp and Jim Spencer (Alfred’s boozy chums Harry and Jamie), Ryan Petrie (a dashing Prince of Transylvania), and Angelé Price-Maddah (making the most of meddlesome Mrs. Hopkins). Ensemble members include CJ Suchyta, Benjamin Jones, Elainah Skaroupka, Shana Fishbein, Stacey Brewer, Amber Pfeifer, Neve Barker, Jamie Pavlofsky, Annie Sayers, Cathy Long, Marabeth Klejna, Jacob Christy, and Samuel Hamilton.

Sarah Viola as Eliza Doolittle in Dayton Playhouse’s My Fair Lady (Photo by Art Fabian)

Director Brian Sharp should’ve tightened many scenes and quickened scene changes, but his desire to incorporate shades of the film version will likely please many patrons. I honestly couldn’t help but think of Hepburn when Viola stunningly enters in her white Embassy Ball gown (costumer Theresa Kahle is responsible for the Cecil Beaton-esque recreation). However, he curiously borrows a page from the aforementioned Broadway revival at the show’s conclusion, but fails to establish enough romantic subtext between Eliza and Higgins from the outset to make the climactic moment truly resonate. Considering the fact that the film seems to be one of Sharp’s major influences, Shough simply should’ve slumped in his chair with Viola standing nearby approvingly as the orchestra swells.
In addition to Kahle, who also does a swell job coordinating Ascot in black, gray and white, the artistic team includes choreographer Sandra Hyde (supplying variety from the easygoing breeziness of Wouldn’t It Be Loverly? and With a Little Bit of Luck to the tiptoe synchronization of Ascot Gavotte and the spiritedness of Get Me To The Church on Time), scenic designer Red Newman (notably providing a beautiful backdrop for Mrs. Higgins’ home), lighting designer Richard Lee Waldeck, sound designer Bob Kovach, music director Ron Kindell (leading a fine 16-piece orchestra), vocal director Tim Rezash, property designer Tina McPhearson, and wig designer Marvel Elcessor.

My Fair Lady will always be remembered for its wonderful score defining the Golden Age of Broadway, but perhaps more significantly, it remains a cautionary tale about communication, specifically the importance of treating others with respect. As Eliza overcomes adversity to embrace her future with hope, Viola displays considerable strength and power, attributes vocally exemplified in her glorious final note of I Could Have Danced All Night. In a perfect world, we would look forward to seeing her again as a member of Lincoln Center’s 2019-2020 My Fair Lady national tour, or better yet, in the immediate future, she’d be a stellar addition to the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra’s upcoming concert My Fair Broadway: The Hits of Lerner and Loewe. Nevertheless, let us be grateful she’s at the Dayton Playhouse effortlessly singing songs you’d think were written just for her.

My Fair Lady continues through Sept. 30 at the Dayton Playhouse, 1301 E. Siebenthaler, Ave., Dayton. Performances are 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. At the performance attended, the production ran 3 hours and 15 minutes. Tickets are $20 for adults and $18 or seniors, students and military. For more information, call (937) 424-8477 or visit daytonplayhouse.com